Your dream job vs the 'real' job

I am tired of pushing aside my passion and settling for something that will just pay the bills but in the end makes me miserable

I remember when I was much younger, I wanted to be many things. I wanted be a scientist, a gymnast, a lawyer, a musician, a journalist, a businesswoman, a psychiatrist and now I want to be a music therapist. One thing that particularly stood out throughout my journey of “career-undecidedness” is that anything that was related to law or medicine was highly praised whereas my choices related to the arts were met with a lot of uncertainty and negative comments. I’m sure nearly every person that’s dared to tell their parents that they want to go into a field related to the Arts has been met with comments such as “That’s not a real job” or “Not in my household” and so most of us decided to pursue something more conventional.

A few months ago, I met the CEO of a theatre company in South Africa and she was telling me about her journey as she began to conceptualise and set-up her company. Luckily for her, her parents were supportive enough to let her go to a really good acting school. However, the discouragement she got actually came from her own teachers, who were adamant that if she happened to get a job, she was very lucky. That an artiste’s life is one of suffering and barely scratching the surface. What I fail to understand is why this is so. I believe that the arts play a very pivotal role in society. Not only do they help with the building, transmission and conveying of culture, they are also literally everywhere in our daily lives.